The Fine Line Between Watchmaking and Art
Frieze London
Watchmaking and art have much in common, the necessity of perfection, the ultimate of sentimental expressions and the opportunity to become a cornerstone for the works after. In recent years, contemporary art has grown in prominence as an artform that takes many styles and shapes, allowing the artist to convey their message in the absence of the four boundaries of a canvas with a plethora of sculptures, dances and paintings amongst countless others. Attracting almost 105,000 visitors last year alone, the highest echelon of contemporary art is showcased at Frieze London in Regents’ Park, held between 3 and 6 October this year. Founded in 2003, the organisation publishes quarterly magazines and showcases a new series of profound art exhibitions each year from over 150 different contemporary art galleries and a thousand of the most prevalent artists today. Simultaneously, in a separate exhibition, various historical art movements are represented at Frieze Masters. In this article we shall be taking a look at just some of the countless highlights in this year’s collection.
Aesthetically Perfect Yet Substantial
A marvellous contemporary artist featured at Frieze London this year is Joël Andrianomearisoa. The iconic Malagasy artist forms striking depictions by taking a bare frame and rearranging the painting’s composition until his visual image is satisfied to create a truly unique and refined flair of art. During this year’s exhibition, one can look forward to distinct art woven of cloths and installations which emphasises Adrianomearisoa’s synergy as an artist and an architect.
Similar to the crafting of Backes & Strauss’ Regent Royal Black Knight, by strengthening the relationship between matter and form using geometric expertise, the artist creates images which are not only aesthetically perfect but substantial also. This accompanied with the use of black, which is a prevalent force in his artworks, gives deep character to the contrast he forms, making a striking and resonating piece of artwork.
Left: Joël Andrianomearisoa’s “Geometry”. Right: Our “Regent Royal Black Knight”.
Vibrantly Diverse Exclusivity
This year’s Frieze London has added a textile section entitled Woven, featuring prominent artistic productions made out of various fibres. One artist worth noting is the late Pacita Abad. This Filipino artist is characterised by her pulsing repetitions of pattern, form and colour. Her painting-like quilts sit between representation and abstraction all the while using loud colours reminiscent of Islamic Filipino textiles and culture. Abad’s vibrant colours are very reminiscent of our joyous Piccadilly Renaissance Rainbow cheerfully bursting with 1,068 multicoloured gemstones and 233 white Ideal Cut diamonds, which spread out from the centre of the dial and flow towards the very ends of the watch’s bracelet to create a vibrantly diverse exclusivity.
Left: Our “Piccadilly Renaissance Ballerina Rainbow”. Right: Patricia Abad’s “L.A. Liberty”.
An Ode to History
If contemporary art isn’t your cup of tea, Frieze Masters, located just a 15-minute walk from Frieze London features some of the most refined art from different generations. Van der Meij Fine Arts Gallery, for instance, will be showcasing supreme European artists of the 19th century such as Willem Witsen, whose bold and defined impressionism is instantly recognisable in the many paintings, etchings and photographs he captured of Amsterdam during his fine career. The gallery will also be exhibiting other displays of impressionism, most notably that of P.S. Krøye, largely regarded as Denmark’s premier impressionist. His art works such as “From the Bourse of Copenhagen” and “Artists’ Luncheon at Skagen” fantastically characterise the thin brush strokes, open composition and changing depictions of light in the impressionist movement of the 19th century. There are also many representations of museum-standard artistic antiquity to appreciate from the galleries of Callisto Fine Arts who display a mixture of sculptures across many centuries and Gregg Baker Asian Art which showcases art pieces of Buddhism, zen and the art of calligraphy over a period of 900 years from the 11th to 20th century.
We love seeing the flow of history and its shaping of the many iconic representations of contemporary art found today. In our own historical ledgers, the likes of Cartier, Bulgari and Tiffany have all elected our precious diamonds for use in their masterpieces and today we use the same qualitative diamonds to produce our own representations of art in timepieces. What’s more, Backes & Strauss’ modern yet classically feminine Victoria Collection vows eternal love by the interlocking heart motif inspired by our historical jewellery archives from the 19th Century.
Left: From our day books, an order placed by Jacques Cartier himself. Right: Our Victoria Princess
Masterpieces for All
It’s apparent that whatever your artistic preference may be, Frieze London has a representative, so whether you are an artist, connoisseur or enthusiast there is no better time to appreciate the very best that art has to offer than now. Likewise, whatever your horological flair, Backes & Strauss will have a timepiece fit for any style of diamond setting art that you want to appreciate at each glance of the wrist.
